A Red Game Boy
by The Other Perspective
Summary: It occured to me that Ari's Game Boy was brought up, but never really went anywhere. Here's a one-shot with a very troubled Max thinking about her dead half-brother in Disney World.


**Hi all! I was reeaeellly bored in History (which seems like the most popular class to get bored in) and I started scribbling this little on-shot on my binder. This is my first MR FanFic, so I might have gotten the characters a bit off. I know that poor Max, for one, is certainly not her usual bright shiny self.**

**Enjoy!**

**Topsy**

"Oo! Mickey Mouse!" Nudge squealed as she struggled to get her camera out.

Did I want to be vacationing in Florida? No. Did I have a sudden urge to see Disney World (again)? Nope. Was I caught in the insane crowds and screaming kids of the place? Guess.

"We need to meet Cinderella," Nudge rambled on after snapping a pic of Mickey with her disposable camera. "And while we're meeting princesses, I want to say hi to Belle, and Ariel, and that girl from Aladdin…"

I nodded numbly to all her suggestions and just concentrated on each step I took. Being this tight in crowds made my skin crawl. My brain was making each person's face look wolfy or botty, or short angry and Asian. Needless to say, I had a horrid headache and every nerve on my body was super-aware of everywhere the crowd brushed me.

"Max, look! Splash Mountain!" Gazzy tugged on my sleeve, and I nearly jumped.

"Hm? Oh, cool."

"Max, can we go? _Please_?" Gazzy made a pouty face, and I nodded wearily. The kids were estatic. I groaned internally, trying to figure out a way to barf over the side of the little cart from anxiety.

"Hey, Ig, can you take them? We'll hang back." Fang's voice can from behind me.

I nearly dropped to my knees to thank him.

"Uh, sure," Iggy said. Nudge raised her eyebrows at us and Angel giggled.

"You guys have fun!" Total called up from the ground. He skittered away just in time to miss the kick I aimed at him.

After I'd seen them climb into the plastic log, I dropped my face into my hands. A warm thumb rubbed soothing circles in the place right in between my crunched-up wings. Fang's voice was in my ear.

"Wanna go somewhere…"

"Yes." I straightened up and followed Fang through the tightly packed people. He led me behind Splash Mountain, to a deserted, filthy alley. The lack of people made me relax much more than I could have with anybody else. I did an automatic 360, to see that one end of the alley led to a parking lot, and the other spit out by Splash Mountain's entrance, by a bench. After another moment of looking out that end, I placed the reason for my déjà vu. That was the bench I'd spotted Ari at the last time we'd been here. We'd flown off right away, of course, but now I was wishing that he was sitting there again… my half-brother…

"Max." It took me a second to realize Fang had said my name about six times. "Max, what's wrong? Please," his voice was low and pleading.

"I—it's… I'm remembering the last time we were here…" My voice grew fainter and fainter until I was just mouthing the words.

"Ari." Fang understood completely. Ari had been a painful dent in my life, and it had affected the whole flock.

I nodded numbly and slid down the wall until I was sitting on the filthy concrete. "I dunno, Fang… I hated him for so long… and now he's gone…" Trying to fight back the tears that I had not given permission to spring to my eyes, my hands fumbled around, to find something to distract me.

Beside me was an electronic of some sort. It had a smooth red surface, and it seemed to have been able to flip open and closed at one point. But the hinge area had been snapped, so the two halves were only held together by colorful wires. "Game Boy" was imprinted on the outside of the screen half.

I felt Fang's eyes on me as I examined the pitiful electronic. His arm slid around my shoulders, and I could feel the warmth from his body next to me. He must've felt my back jerk as my breath caught. The bottom half of the game had huge gashes in it, bigger than your average little boy could make with his fingernails.

But a mutant little boy with big claws…

I leaned against Fang's shoulder and tried desperately to wash out the world with my tears.

**My first one-shot! Hope you liked! My history binder scribbles usually make no sense whatsoever, and I would love to hear your opinion on this one! I-**_**review**_**-would-**_**review**_**-like-**_**review**_**-to-**_**review**_**-remind-**_**review**_**-you-**_**review**_**-to-umm… I forget ;)**

**Topsy**


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